Factory safety watch in complete disarrayRecurring accidents causing loss of a large number of lives and huge property have failed to make the government take effective steps to ensure safe working condition in factories.

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Outage leads to severe water crisis in capitalUnprecedented power outages have caused a severe water crisis in the capital making Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) fail to meet the rising demand for piped water in the city.

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More bodies, more criesAmbia's wait for her missing son came to an end at last, though not the way she was expecting.

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People's interests ignored in JS discussionsDiscussions on issues of public interest seem to have been put on the back burner in the current Jatiya Sangsad while both the ruling alliance and opposition lawmakers remain busy scathing about the opponents

No compensation from owners yetRelatives of those killed in Saturday's building collapse at Tejgaon are yet to get any compensation from owners of the multi-storey building despite the latter's offer of it, they alleged yesterday.

Farmers continue to agitate in vainAgitated farmers yesterday continued with their protest programmes across the country as the power and fertiliser crises persist, greatly affecting cultivation of boro in its peak season.

Trawler sinks in KirtonkholaA trawler carrying about 80 passengers capsized in the Kirtonkhola River yesterday killing at least one. Eleven of the passengers were reported missing while the rest were able to swim to the shore.

Bird flu hits PakistanPakistan has detected H5-type bird flu in chickens on two poultry farms and tests are underway to determine if the virus is the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, officials said.

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Explosion at Ctg garment factory againAt least 15 workers were injured in a stampede amid scrambles for exit as an electric generator transformer exploded at a garment factory during power outage in the port city's Atur Depot area yesterday

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Australian minister due Mar 7Australian Federal Minister for Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs Senator Amanda Vanstone will arrive in Dhaka on March 7 on a two-day official visit.

PM hopes AL to stay in JS till its tenurePrime Minister Khaleda Zia has reaffirmed that her government will transfer power to the caretaker government in October on completion of its tenure and elections will be held next January.

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Home help beaten to deathA 12-year-old domestic help was brutally beaten to death allegedly by the family of her employer at the old DOHS in the city on Sunday night.

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Robber leader killed in 'encounter'A ringleader of an inter-district gang of robbers was killed in an encounter between his cohorts and police at Bholaganj in Companiganj upazila of Sylhet district early yesterday.

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First Test starts todayBangladesh will be up against champion off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan when they take on Sri Lanka in the first Test of the two-match series at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium today.

India lags behind ChinaIndia failed to cash in on the quota-free world textile market and registered only a 'moderate' export growth during the current financial year and lagged way behind arch rival China, an official survey

Asia's first low-cost terminal opens in MarchCome March 23, Malaysia will become the first country in Asia to own and operate a low-cost terminal known as LCC Terminal KLIA (LCC-T) that can handle up to 10 million passengers a year.

India maintains 8.1pc growth outlookIndia maintained Monday its economic growth forecast of 8.1 percent for the fiscal year ending March while warning that oil-price driven inflation was a potential problem going forward.

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China's Q1 GDP forecast at 9.6pcGrowth in China's booming economy is expected to power ahead in the first quarter, with gross domestic product rising 9.6 percent from a year ago, a government linked-think tank said Monday.

HSBC, Computer Source sign MoUHSBC in Bangladesh and Computer Source Ltd launched a campaign under which customers can purchase a range of Fujitsu Notebook at zero interest for the first year.

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Japan eyes FTA with oil-rich Gulf nationsJapan plans to begin talks with six oil-rich Gulf Arab states this year towards a free trade agreement in the aim of securing stable energy supplies, officials said Monday.

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Vietnam posts trade surplus in first 2 monthsVietnam posted a trade surplus of 17 million dollars in the year's first two months, reflecting weak imports over the lunar new year holidays, an official said Monday. Exports rose 28.

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Eskayef launches Losectil DR tabletEskayef Bangladesh Ltd, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh, has launched 20mg delayed release omeprazole (Losectil DR) tablet for the first time in the country, says a press release.

Cricket:Tigers expect a better showThe body language of the Tigers showed no lack of confidence during their final training session yesterday at the Chittagong Divi-sional Stadium on the eve of the first Test against Sri Lanka.

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Cricket:Awaiting AshrafulThe last series was not a happy one for Mohammad Ashraful, but the ace Bangladesh batsman still believes that Sri Lanka are always a lucky opponent for him.

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Cricket:'My name is Muralidaran'Champion Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has one wish going into his 100th Test today.

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Cricket:Sylhet surprise leadersSylhet stormed to the top of the table when they thrashed previous round's joint leaders Dhaka by 188 runs on the fourth and the final day of the first-class match of the Ispahani Seventh National Cricket

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Football:Hong Kong booters in cityHong Kong arrived in Dhaka in the early hours of Monday to play the second round match of the 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers against hosts Bangladesh.

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Cricket:Smith propels ProteasGraeme Smith hit an unbeaten century to lead South Africa to victory in the first one-day international at Centurion Park on Sunday.

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Cricket:Vaughan out of TestsEngland captain Michael Vaughan has been ruled out of the Test series against India due to a knee injury.

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Football:Roma set new recordAS Roma set a record of 11 consecutive Serie A wins when goals by Rodrigo Taddei and Alberto Aquilani secured a 2-0 triumph over city rivals Lazio on Sunday.

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Football:France can win WC: ZidaneFrance will go to Germany believing they can win the World Cup and with a team good enough to do so, a defiant Zinedine Zidane told sports daily L'Equipe on Monday.

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Football:Real beaten, Valencia heldThird-placed Real Madrid lost 2-1 at lowly Real Mallorca on Sunday, ending their six-match winning run in the Primera Liga.

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Football:Ronaldo hits back at RaulSunday's defeat at Real Mallorca has intensified a simmering feud between Real Madrid stars Raul and Ronaldo with the Brazilian hitting back at earlier criticism from the Spanish international.

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Tennis:Henman powers past LopezTim Henman, the former world number four from Britain, won a crucial battle to retain a foothold on the main tour when he prevailed in an up-and-down tussle against Feliciano Lopez, a former finalist,

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Cricket:Flintoff's sacrificeAndrew Flintoff is to stay in India for the rest of England's tour. The Lancashire all-rounder was due to head home before the third Test to attend the birth of his second child.

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Cricket:Shabbir can't tour EnglandThe International Cricket Council (ICC) moved on Monday to deny certain media reports that Pakistan fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed would be able to tour England this year.

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Cricket:Jaques added to Aussie sideOpening batsman Phil Jaques was Monday added to the injury-hit Australian one-day squad for its limited-overs series in South Africa, Cricket Australia said.

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Football:Ronaldinho ruled out of Russia friendlyRonaldinho will miss Brazil's World Cup warmup against Russia in Moscow on Wednesday after picking up an injury in Barcelona's Champions League win against Chelsea last week.

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Football:Cup solace for Man UWayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United avoided the ignominy of a second consecutive trophy-less season by hammering Wigan 4-0 to win the League Cup.

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Football:Ruud's United future in doubtRuud van Nistelrooy's Manchester United future has been thrown into fresh doubt after the club's top striker was left on the bench for all of the 4-0 League Cup final win over Wigan.

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Cricket:'South Africans outplayed us'Australia's stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist acknowledged the world champions were comprehensively outplayed in the opening one-day international against South Africa on Sunday.

‘Investigation an eyewash’The Dhaka University (DU) authorities are allegedly trying to hush up the controversies surrounding the masters' result of the Department of Political Science by conducting a partial investigation instead of a thorough one.

No action yet against attackersThe Department of Bangla of Dhaka University and different socio-cultural and political organisations observed the second anniversary of the attack on prominent writer Prof Humayun Azad yesterday.

Ctg dock workers threaten movementDock workers at Chittagong port have threaten to go for a tougher movement, including work abstention, demanding cancellation of the move for privatisation of New Mooring Container Terminal.

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CPB calls half-day hartal Mar 2Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) called a countrywide half-day hartal on March 2 demanding punishment to the people responsible for killings of garment workers in Chittagong and labourers in Dhakarecently.

Resist Indian move for river-linkingThe 'long march' organised by Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) to protest Indian's river inter-linking project, that started from Muktangan in Dhaka city on February 25, reached Palashbari in Gaibandha

Resolving Iran-US nuclear flare-upDoes a country have the right to be economically self-reliant and technologically sophisticated if it has the resources to become both? No it doesn't, if it is Iran which is not friends with the US.

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Reflection on JUTA electionThe election of the Jahangirnagar University Teachers' Association (JUTA) is being held today. It is a routine matter that happens every year and in every university.

Nepal Maoists ambush army patrol: 4 killedDozens of Maoist rebels ambushed an army patrol in eastern Nepal on Monday and shot dead at least three soldiers following a fighting that left 16 rebels dead, an army officer said.

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EU releases funds for PalestiniansThe European Commission will release 120 million euros (142 million dollars) in much-needed funds for the Palestinians, EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said yesterday.

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Tight security for Bush’s India tripA multi-tier security structure consisting of American officials, Indian paramilitary commandoes and police will be put in place for US President George W Bush during his visit to India beginning tomorrow.

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Thai opposition to boycott snap pollsThailand's opposition parties said yesterday they would boycott a snap election called by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for April 2. "Because of Thaksin's distortion of the (reform) issue ...

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Philippines widens crackdownThe Philippines yesterday detained four police officers and filed charges against 16 opposition figures for trying to overthrow the government, as President Gloria Arroyo widened a crackdown against alleged

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5 Saudi oil plant attack suspects killedSaudi security forces yesterday killed five men linked to a bid to blow up the world's largest oil-processing plant who were hiding in a house in a Riyadh residential suburb with a cache of explosives.

Editorial:New building code, what about the old one?The alacrity with which parliament has passed a new bill empowering the government to formulate a new national building code in the aftermath of the Tejgaon tragedy is to be commended.

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Editorial:Farmers' SOS deserves immediate attentionThis comes as a stupefying surprise. For two reasons: one, knowing fully well that boro crop being a huge fall-back component of food security must be raised through steady supply of inputs, the government has inexplicably allowed scarcity of fertiliser, diesel and electricity to mess up things there.

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The inaction at ACC and the needfulWell-meaning concerned citizens of our democratic polity are of the considered view that the much publicised Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) which came into existence in November 2004 amidst much expectation

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The peace of justiceIf there is justice there will be peace. Nine men from Baroda were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in Mumbai for a massacre of innocents (known as the Best Bakery case) during one of the most terrible communal riots in our history, the Gujarat carnage of 2002;

CartoonI want to request everybody to realise the greatness of our Prophet (pbuh).

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Fossil fuel & alternativesFossil fuel or hydrocarbon resource is finite. One day it will be exhausted. Moreover, this material is now blamed for all the ills seen around us, from global warming to Iraq war.

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Why hartal?The day was 15th February 2006, the opposition parties had called hartal on that day. My college was scheduled to start the next day but my college uniform would not be ready before the 15th.

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Biman grounded!Recently we have seen many newspaper reports on how Biman Bangladesh Airlines has let us all down. Frankly speaking, the national carrier is a bit of an embarrassment in the ranks of international airlines.